Sunday and I am in one of my many relaxation modes……a little something different….hope you enjoy it……
Awhile back I introduced my readers to the Psi Phi Society…..it has NOTHING to do with science fiction or the channel that pretends to air such programming……it is a discussion group that meets once a year sometimes more to have a good dinner and discuss things…..in the past we have discussed, debated and/or exchanged ideas on Evolution of man and Atlantis…..the group consist of a minister, 2 teachers, a journalist, an artist and myself……
At the beginning of the dinner we each present a subject for discussion we then vote on it an the winner gets all the attention…..this last discussion was “Sacred Artifacts”……things like the Spear of Destiny, Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant……this was chosen because there had been a wealth of TV programs , book, articles and movies about the 3 items and the teachers were interested how to approach the subject with their students…….
The subject became……Sacred Artifacts: Real Or Myth?
I will present my side of the discussion…..my argument was that they are myth and legend……from the point of view….LOGIC!
The Spear of Destiny is said to be the spear that the Roman soldier used to pierce the side of Christ hanging on the cross….the Spear is said to be in a museum in Austria (I believe)…….the tale is that since the spear was used in the way it was it now has “magical” powers…..
This is the Spear of Destiny as we know it…….
In the first century AD the average Roman soldier was equipped with several weapons….the gladius, a short sword and the javelin called a pilum……so if the story is true then the soldier would have used his pilum to pierce the side of Christ…..and a pilum is this…..
Now compare spear points…..not the same…..it is a myth.
Next is the Holy Grail or the Cup of Christ……everybody knows what this is supposed to be….that drinking vessel that Christ used at the Last Supper……so many books, articles, movies, TV shows, etc have been done in pursuit of this sacred artifact…..so is it fact or fiction?
First, why would anyone think of keeping a cup from a dinner party?
This is the common thought of what the Grail looks like…..
Think about that for a minute…..we are talking about a itinerant preacher and his flock that depended on the kindness of others for their existence…..do you really believe they would wander around with a jewel encrusted gold goblet?
A wandering band of religious types would have had something along this line……small either clay or wood vessels…..
If there is a Holy Grail what is it? A person, a cup, a place….so many theories and so little time…….
Sorry but again….to my way of thinking another myth.
Finally there is the Ark of the Covenant….that special case to hold the tablets that the 10 commandments were written on….it is written that when the Israelites carried the Ark before their army that they were invincible.
This is the common conception of the Ark……
This one I cannot say it did not exist with any authority but there are inconsistencies in the tale that have bothered me for a long time…..
Let me take this opportunity to say that I do not doubt there was an Ark…..just that it is now as it has been portrayed……
For instance made of hard wood and covered with gold and whatever other precious metals and jewels that is has been said to have…..then there is the part about the Ark as a weapon to be used in war….it is said that if the Ark went before the army then they were unbeatable……
Lets look at history for a moment….it is written that the Babylonians attacked and destroyed Jerusalem in 586BCE…..burned the city and took Israelite into captivity…..
Here is my problem…..the Ark was housed in the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem when the Babylonians attacked….if so then why did not the Israelites not use the Ark to defeat the Babylonians?
Instead it is said that it was whisked off and put into hiding….and Biblical scholars have been searching for it ever since….
Because it was not used to defend the Israelites from destruction then I am saying that it is a MYTH! (At least the part about it being a weapon of some sort)
Please if you would like to weigh in….be my guest…..
Jesus, the supposedly poverty-stricken itinerant preacher who became the Christian Savior came into the world with a plethora of untold wealth brought as gifts from the legendary wise men …. gold, frankincense and murrh — a virtual fortune for the times ….. and later he was part of a successful carpentry business … and he had a desciple who carried “The Purse” for the group of Christ and His followers …. so they were obviously never without coin of one kind or another on their journeys …. so I imagine that if He wanted to use a gold cup for the Last Supper He might have done so easily and maybe it was even part of the bounty he inherited from the wise men’s generosity at His birth …. maybe the gold chalice was part of the “Gold” brought to Him as gifts ….or maybe it was simply an old earthern vessel used for individual drinking at these kinds of events and maybe it was smashed after the dinner in some recognition of it being the end of the earthly ministry and returned to the ground from which the clay for it first came.
The Israelites were not defended from destruction because if they had been it would have changed the entire plan of salvation. It all had to play out as written because a change in any detail would have thrown the entire thing off. The things of God are consistent regardless of denials to the contrary.
In other words Christians need the Jews?
If Jesus was a Jew then it follows that Christianity is a form of Judaism and if that is true then all who convert to Christianity become some form of Jew and then “Yes, Christians not only NEED the Jews but are, in fact the Jews themselves in one form or another.
I am talking about the necessity for there to be an Israel and a rebuilt temple before we can have the much anticipated “End of Days”? Without it Jesus will not return…as some believe….just asking?
People tend to get the “Israel” of Bible Times with the present-day Israel and that is a mistake because the Bible itself warns Christians to cease heeding “Jewish Fables.” Christians are part of what is called “A New Jerusalem” and that Jerusalem is a spiritual thing, not an earthly thing. The rationale for this is that Jesus once told a disciple that His Kingdom is “Not of this present world” — so there is where some of the confusion may lie in interpretations in expectations among present-day Christians.
The present-day “Israel” is part of the “Present-Day material world and the whole focus of the Bible is that the present-day world that we know will someday disappear by Divine Action and will be replaced with something that is not either physical or material …. a new “Kingdom” …. “A new world” …. a new state of being … so if the Bible is true then the Israel that we all know today is slated to be removed from existence alongside the rest of the entire world that will “End” at some unforseeable future and this is something that people and populations cannot control with their politics and religious wishful thinking.
John, I will have to take you at the word….this is a philosophical exchange that would be better in person…..advantage John…thanx for the comments…..chuq
Thank you for your patience and tolerance.
It was my pleasure John….I wish we could have this exchange in the same room….would make it so much better…..but I thank you for your input….chuq